Sara Lou Todd Berg

Sara Lou Todd Berg, a resident of Walland, Tennessee passed away Tuesday July 23, 2013 at her home in what she referred to as Paradise. She was 83 years old.

Sara Lou Todd Berg, a resident of Walland, Tennessee passed away Tuesday July 23, 2013 at her home in what she referred to as Paradise. She was 83 years old.

Sara was born on November 29, 1929 in Cameron, W. Va. to the late Oren and Helen (Clutter) Todd. She enjoyed spending time on her grandparents’ farm as a child which undoubtedly played a part in her lifelong love of nature. She is remembered fondly for being an avid birdwatcher and rehabilitating injured birds. She touched many young lives as a wonderful Brownie and Girl Scout Troop Leader. Sara was a voracious reader, loved to write, paint with water colors, make sculptures of people or animals from clay and play Scrabble. She had a real passion for and extensive knowledge of wildflowers and landscaping with almost anything that bloomed. She was especially fond of ice cream and Hershey’s kisses.

Sara became a Registered Nurse through the Presbyterian Hospital School of Nursing in Pittsburgh, PA in 1950. Years later, after raising a family, she attended the University of Tennessee, graduating in 1977 with High Honors and receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree. She continued her education at Vanderbilt University where she earned a Master of Science in Nursing in 1978. Most of her nursing career was spent in the field of mental health with positions at the Oak Ridge Mental Health Center, the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville and the Maury County Mental Health Center in Columbia, TN. Several years after retiring in 1994, Sara moved to Panama City Beach, Florida to fulfill a dream of living near the beach. She actively participated as a volunteer with the Turtle Watch program and with a program that served people who had suffered brain injuries. As health issues began to increase, Sara moved to Idaho Falls in 2003 to live adjacent to her daughter Cay, a physician. Together they explored scenic parks and drives and established a number of gardens and water gardens. In 2011 Sara moved to Walland, TN to live adjacent to her daughter Sam. She spent her last 21 months enjoying the view of Chilhowee Mountain, listening to her daughter’s hiking adventures and seeing the Smoky Mountain wildflowers in bloom.

In addition to her parents, Sara was preceded in death by brother Lee Todd and his wife Dora. Sara is survived by brother Dick Todd and his wife Betty in Maryland, daughter Cindy Stelzman and husband Ralph in Morristown, TN; daughter Cay Berg and husband Tod Reincke in Idaho; daughter Sam McGroom and husband Stan in Walland, TN.; grandchildren Walter Stelzman and wife Candi, Eric Stelzman, Elaine Stelzman, Joe McGroom and wife Erica, and Ethan McGroom.

Per Sara’s wishes, her body was donated to the University of Tennessee Medical School in Memphis. She asked that after UT is finished for her family to “sprinkle my ashes under a rhododendron somewhere”.

The family is especially grateful for the brief but excellent and compassionate care provided by Blount Memorial Hospice.